A Downriver man was convinced he was the butt of an April Fools' joke when he discovered he'd won a whopping $100,000 in the Powerball lottery. Jeremiah Maher, 43, from Taylor, couldn't believe his luck when his ticket matched four white balls and the Powerball 19-24-40-42-56, PB: 23 in the April 1 draw, initially netting him $50,000.

The windfall doubled to $100,000 thanks to the Power Play option. Maher purchased his lucky ticket at a local 7-Eleven store, located at 20945 Ecorse Road in Taylor.

"I looked at my numbers after the drawing and I thought someone was pulling an April Fools' Day prank on me," Maher recounted. "It felt so unreal to see my numbers come up in the drawing. It's definitely the most exciting April Fools' Day I've ever had!"

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    • With plans to build a new house, Maher recently claimed his prize at Lottery headquarters, turning what he thought was a prank into a life-changing event.

    Everyone dreams about winning big on the lottery - but only a handful of people actually experience what it's like. One of them, Crystal Dunn, from Kentucky, made sure to treat her community after she won $146,000 with a gesture that's warmed hearts everywhere.

    According to the Kentucky Lottery, Crystal headed down to a supermarket shortly after collecting her winnings and bought $2,000 in gift cards. She proceeded to hand them out to people in the store, spreading the joy from her lottery win with strangers in her community.

    Powerball plays can be purchased for $2 each at Lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com. A 'Power Play' option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times to a maximum of $2 million may be added to any Powerball play for only $1. And for an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Powerball ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $10 million in the nightly Double Play drawing.

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    The Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and may be watched live online via their website. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

    What would you spend the money on if you won the lottery? Let us know in the comments below.

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